(NewsNation) — The first criminal trial in the deadly 2022 Uvalde school shooting will begin with opening statements Tuesday after a grueling 11-hour jury selection.
Former police officer Adrian Gonzales is facing 29 felony counts of abandoning or endangering a child. He was one of the first to respond to the May 24, 2022, shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
His charges stem from his response during the attack by a teenage shooter, which killed 19 children and two teachers. The case is part of a broader push for accountability after officers waited more than an hour to confront the shooter, the U.S. Department of Justice found.
Prosecutors say Gonzales failed to follow his active-shooter training and have accused him of putting children in danger by not acting sooner as the gunman remained inside the school.
Gonzales has pleaded not guilty. His attorney insists his client was focused on helping children escape and that he didn’t cause their deaths. If convicted on all counts, Gonzales could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Parents push for justice in high-profile Uvalde trial
Brett Cross, whose son Uziyah was killed in the shooting, told NewsNation he and other parents have been waiting for the trial for years.
“Finally. Finally, we’re maybe getting closer to some accountability to possibly some justice, which is what we need,” he said. “We have been fighting for this for a very, very long time.”
“If we can get two officers held accountable, that would be two more than we’ve had the last 1,322 days,” he added.
If jury selection is any indication, the trial will be intense from start to finish. More than 100 people were dismissed from the jury pool after saying they couldn’t stay neutral on the case.
The trial is expected to last about two weeks and involve dozens of witnesses — including victims’ parents — extensive bodycam video, radio traffic and years of investigative records to explore.
NewsNation’s Anna Kutz contributed to this report.